Recent Articles

A Clear Message Regarding Colorectal Cancer: Prevention is Key

Communities Work Together Towards Colorectal Cancer Prevention

Hispanics Less Likely to Seek Cancer Information

Co-Pay Relief

A New Life for Latinas Affected by Cancer

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A Clear Message Regarding Colorectal Cancer: Prevention is Key

Denver, Colorado. (ConCienciaNews) - It is not a coincidence that most health conditions that disproportionately affect the Latino community in the United States are the result of the lack of prevention, including language barriers, lack of health insurance and access to basic information, there are many reasons why Hispanics do not undergo screening testing in time.

In the case of colorectal cancer, the situation becomes especially critical. Screening tests are aimed at senior populations, where there is a particular resistance among male Hispanics.
“Many times [the lack of prevention] is due to cultural factors, especially in men,” said Rodolfo Cardenas, journalist and spokesperson of the campaign Cancer affects all us, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “They often say ‘I do not need such things’.”

Such ‘things’ refer in particular to the three different types of screening tests for colorectal cancer, from which the most popular is perhaps the colonoscopy, which consists in the exploration of the intestines.

However, Cardenas believes that his credibility as a journalist in Denver community and personal experience may have a positive impact on Hispanic men. Born in Tachira, in Western Venezuela, Cardenas has lived the same experiences of many immigrants who come with temporary plans, but eventually decide to stay.

“I would love to change their minds and teach them that prevention is very important,” Cardenas said. “I am also a man, I am a Latino, I live in the U.S. and I am at that age in which we all must undergo testing and take care of ourselves. If I do this, why others cannot do it as well?
Although he has been very lucky since no one in his family has suffered from the disease, Cardenas has closely seen the effects of cancer on very of his closest friends.

“All these situations really touched me, ‘if I can do something, I will do it,’ and here is the opportunity, fortunately,” he said.

He is not trying to overcome the taboos in Latino community regarding cancer and colonoscopy, a test he underwent, Cardenas’s message goes beyond and covers future generations.

“We must do it for ourselves and our family’s well-being. I want to take care of myself because of my children. My father did it for me - although I was already a grown-up and independent man when my father died-; I still miss him every day.

This is a gift he wants to pass on to future generations.

“Although my two sons are grown up now, I feel they need me more every day,” Cardenas said. “I take care of myself for my family, so take care for yours,” he concluded.
To access information and resources of the campaign El Cancer nos Afecta a Todos, call the Acceso Hispano help line at 1-800-473-3003

Source: ConCienciaNews

Communities Work Together Towards Colorectal Cancer Prevention

Denver, Colorado. (ConCienciaNews) – For Luis Barrera, communications director at Avanza supermarkets in Denver, to offer good products to Hispanic families is as important as providing them with tools that contribute to their well-being and that of their communities.

That’s why, this month, Barrera is lending space at the Denver supermarket for three volunteers to set up a table with computers and internet access. The goal? To inform and educate Avanza’s consumers in Denver about colorectal cancer risks and how to prevent them.

This initiative is part of El Cancer nos Afecta a Todos, a campaign funded by the CDC, which has the goal to prevent colorectal cancer, the third most commonly diagnosed type of cancer among Hispanics.

From teaching them how to use the internet to accessing cancer-related information and where to go to obtain health resources and get a colonoscopy, health Promotoras are working directly with adults 50 and older throughout Denver Latino communities.

“People have been excited about this because the information is first-hand,” Barrera said. “The response has been great because people are always worried about their health.”

This is a concern that, according to Barrera, businesses should neither ignore, nor underestimate. As a Mexican immigrant committed to social causes, Barrera understands that making business should also go hand-to-hand with social responsibility.

“It’s not just about setting up a store and that’s it,” he said. “It’s also about interacting with the consumers and being part of their community.”

Barrera has been part of such initiatives even before his arrival in the United States seven years ago. In his native Mexico, he helped create projects that contributed to higher accessibility of cancer medications, the construction of a hospital and general assistance for kids with leukemia.

Once in the United States, Latino immigrants develop risk factors that make them more vulnerable to certain diseases, such as cancer. According to the CDC, 41 percent of Mexican American adults between 50 and 83 years old admitted in a 2003 study to never having any sort of colorectal cancer detection test; just a few of them admitted having some sort of accurate knowledge of the disease; and 41 percent said they had had discussed detection with their doctors at some point.

Although general barriers that lead to the abovementioned situation include lack of information, lack of health insurance and language barriers, Latinos are also underrepresented among the medical communities through clinical trials; regardless of being the fastest-growing segment of the US population.

The medical community suggests over and over that a change in eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle may play a detrimental role in Hispanics’ propensity to cancer.  For this reason, besides adopting a healthy diet and exercising regularly, the CDC urges adults 50 and older –or those with a family medical history of colorectal cancer—to get tested for colorectal cancer.

Doing so can save many lives.

For information and resources regarding the El Cancer nos Afecta a Todos campaign, call our helpline at 1-800-473-3003

Hispanics Less Likely to Seek Cancer Information

83% of Spanish-speaking Hispanics have never even looked for cancer information

Differences in cancer information-seeking and information access have the potential to shape health knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and medical decisions, and may contribute to disparities in health outcomes among disadvantaged populations.

How Can This Inform Your Work?

English fluency is one of many factors that influence Hispanics’ interactions with the U.S. health care system. Spanish-speaking Hispanics may encounter barriers to accessing the abundant supply of primarily English-language cancer-prevention and treatment information. Health practitioners are uniquely positioned to address language barriers in order to promote accurate cancer knowledge and beliefs, as well as early screening and treatment options among Hispanics.

Recommendations:

• Consider using outreach efforts to promote the utilization of accessible, language-appropropriate cancer information resources.
• Consider utilizing interpersonal channels of communication (i.e., healthcare providers, family, and friends) for outreach to Hispanics.
• Assess whether the Internet is an appropriate channel to reach your target audience. (When it comes to Internet usage, only 21% of the Spanish-speaking population report going online as compared with 66% of non-Hispanics and 58% of English-speaking Hispanics).

Learn more about the cancer-seeking behavior study results here

For more information call the NCI Cancer Information Service at 1-800-422-6237. Order NCI Cancer publications at https://cissecure.nci.nih.gov/ncipubs/

Co-Pay Relief

Washington, DC - Serious illness can be a financial catastrophe, even for patients with health insurance. Recognizing this need, the Patient Advocate Foundation has a program called Co-pay Relief (CPR), a patient assistance program, designed to help insured patients with certain life-threatening or debilitating diseases cope with the significant out-of-pocket costs associated with their treatments.

The program fills a critical gap for many insured patients. The law creates what many refer to as a coverage gap or a zone of income and expenses where patients are not covered. Patients with qualifying conditions will be able to turn to the Patient Advocate Foundation’s CPR program to help them with significant co-pay burdens as they pass through the coverage gap phase of the benefit.

Financial crisis as a result of illness is not unusual. A recent study conducted by the Harvard Medical School indicated that about half of all personal bankruptcies stem from medical causes among people who had health insurance. “I have health insurance, so when I was diagnosed with cancer, of course I thought my biggest worry was my illness. But the treatments were so expensive, and I found that I just couldn’t manage the co-pays,” says June Dalton, a lung cancer patient from Santa Maria, California. Ms. Dalton subsequently enrolled in the pilot phase of the CPR program and received direct assistance in paying for her treatment co-pays.

The Patient Advocate Foundation encourages patients diagnosed with one of the illnesses covered by the program to apply for assistance if they are having difficulties paying for their treatment co-pays. Some indications that suggest someone should apply are forgoing treatment because of costs, skipping payments on the mortgage or utility bills, or having difficulty buying groceries because of treatment costs.

About the Patient Advocate Foundation
Patient Advocate Foundation is a national non-profit organization that seeks to safeguard patients through effective mediation, assuring access to care, maintenance of employment and preservation of their financial stability. Patient Advocate Foundation serves as an active liaison between the patient and their insurer, employer, and/or creditors to resolve debt crisis matters related to their diagnosis with the help of doctors, healthcare attorneys and a case manager.

For more information about Patient Advocate Foundation, please call 1-800-532-5274 or visit their website at www.patientadvocate.org. For Co-pay Relief information, call 1-866-512-3861.

A New Life for Latinas Affected by Cancer

While there are many organizations that offer cancer prevention services and participate in cancer prevention campaigns, organizations serving Latina women who have been diagnosed with cancer are few and far between.

When Nueva Vida (New Life) was founded in 1996, it was the only organization in the greater Washington DC metropolitan area to provide support services specifically to Latinas affected by cancer. Many Latinas were becoming lost in the health systems, and only could find limited information about cancer in Spanish. Service providers had difficulty understanding the unique cultural and linguistic challenges that Latina women faced, and rates of early detection of cancer among Latinas were dismally low.

Latina women were slower than other women to get screened for cancer due to lack of information, lack of health insurance, language barriers, and a generalized sense of intimidation by the complex health systems in the United States.

Nueva Vida was formed by a group of Hispanic professionals who were cancer survivors themselves. Intimately aware of the challenges faced by Latina women, they began providing services to increase access to diagnostic, treatment and counseling services. They built partnerships with hospitals, health clinics, and private doctors in the region, and aligned themselves with research and social service organizations that were able to provide discounted or free services to women without health insurance.

Today Nueva Vida offers a range of services including support groups for women affected by cancer, groups for caregivers, and cancer survivors. Their team of 6 certified counselors provides case management and one-on-one counseling services. They conduct community outreach campaigns and organize cancer screening tests for groups of Latina women who otherwise would not get screened. Nueva Vida’s team seeks out the appropriate treatment & payment options for women, and helps them navigate the complex health systems. When women need moral support, help with translation, or transportation to their doctor’s appointments, Nueva Vida personnel or volunteers are available to accompany them.

All services provided by Nueva Vida are completely free of charge, thanks to the organization’s many donors which include private foundations and some international organizations.

In 2008 Nueva Vida helped some 350 Latina women in the DC metropolitan area get screened for cancer, and provided support services to 100 Latina women diagnosed with cancer. As many as 70% of the women who seek help at Nueva Vida speak no English and many would be unable to receive the care they need were it not for the advocacy, support and referrals provided by the organization.

Larisa Caicedo, Nueva Vida’s Executive Director, cites the uniquely Latino environment offered by Nueva Vida as one of the organization’s greatest strengths. Women can receive the information and support they need in Spanish from other women just like them—who understand the unique cultural issues that they might be facing—in an environment of trust and mutual respect.

Ms. Caicedo shares this advice with other service providers: “Collaboration is the most important. Reinventing the wheel doesn’t work. We need to build partnerships to work with specialized organizations, and make sure that we address the community from a culturally-sensitive perspective.”

For more information about Nueva Vida, visit their website at www.nueva-vida.org or send an email to Show email address.